Article type
Abstract
Background: Guideline developers depend on systematic reviews (SRs) to provide up-to-date evidence to make recommendations that drive patient care. Typically, guideline recommendations and SRs are updated every 5 to 7 years. Historically, this has been largely consistent with the rate at which new research was published. Today, research in areas such as genetics and technology (e.g., AI) is being generated a faster rate, such that the conclusions of a SR, and possibly a guideline recommendation, may be out of date sooner than the traditional update timeline. In a living systematic review (LSR), investigators continuously surveil the literature and are able to update conclusions as they become out of date. LSRs are resource intensive, and an in-house SR team is one way to improve efficiency. Research/medical librarians are crucial to the development of a SR. However, in many cases, librarians are part-time or contracted, rather than fully integrated members.
Objective: To describe the benefits associated with fully integrating a research librarian as a member of an in-house SR team.
Overall Team Benefits: An integrated and dedicated librarian provides numerous benefits to both guideline and SR teams. A fully integrated librarian’s incentives are aligned with the organization and the team, rather than with an external or academic library. Across teams, a librarian provides the ability to efficiently track publications, media, and other impacts, and also enables a group to be more responsive to urgent and time-sensitive requests. For SR teams, working with an integrated librarian on the entire scope of a SR provides the benefits associated with an ongoing, consistent relationship, including domain knowledge acquisition, horizon scanning, and the type of continuous monitoring of the literature that may be especially useful for LSRs.
Living Systematic Reviews: In addition to dedicated continuous monitoring, an integrated librarian facilitates efficiencies in LSRs, such as an iterative search refinement process, not only at the initial review, but also at surveillance and updates, as well as streamlining the surveillance process and determining the need to update.
Conclusion: Integrating a librarian in the team producing SRs improves methods for robust evidence production.
Objective: To describe the benefits associated with fully integrating a research librarian as a member of an in-house SR team.
Overall Team Benefits: An integrated and dedicated librarian provides numerous benefits to both guideline and SR teams. A fully integrated librarian’s incentives are aligned with the organization and the team, rather than with an external or academic library. Across teams, a librarian provides the ability to efficiently track publications, media, and other impacts, and also enables a group to be more responsive to urgent and time-sensitive requests. For SR teams, working with an integrated librarian on the entire scope of a SR provides the benefits associated with an ongoing, consistent relationship, including domain knowledge acquisition, horizon scanning, and the type of continuous monitoring of the literature that may be especially useful for LSRs.
Living Systematic Reviews: In addition to dedicated continuous monitoring, an integrated librarian facilitates efficiencies in LSRs, such as an iterative search refinement process, not only at the initial review, but also at surveillance and updates, as well as streamlining the surveillance process and determining the need to update.
Conclusion: Integrating a librarian in the team producing SRs improves methods for robust evidence production.